Chapter 6: Lunch at Rose Town
"It's alright" Bowser said as he watched Peach finally return. "Want a KeroKeroCola?" He asked handing her the drink.
"Thank you, I could use something to drink until we reach Rose Town and have breakfast" Peach said.
"You mean lunch" Bowser said.
"It's that late already?" The sun was in fact positioned in the center of the sky. "Time went by pretty quickly" Peach said. They headed out of Tadpole Pond to the near by Rose Town.
"Yes it did" Bowser agreed. Did that mean she liked spending time with him? Remembering their time as allies in their quest brought back nice memories. Maybe she was reliving those moments. He didn't want it to end.
They entered Rose Two and headed toward the Inn that had also added a restaurant area. As soon as they entered they saw a mushroom kid playing with some action figures in the lobby. The boy was Gaz, the son of the Inn's owner. He was playing his usual game of 'save the world' which was more of a 'save princess Toadstool' game. The Mario action figure was guided by the boy's hand to jump on the Bower action figure. "Take that Bowser!" But as it usually happened in his game it was Geno who would be the hero. He picked up the Bowser action figure making it throw the Mario action figure across the lobby. That brought back funny memories to Bowser. During part of their quest he had taken to using Mario as a weapon throwing him at the enemies.
"Mwahahaha! Attention Toadstool you're coming with me, zip your lip!" Gaz said moving the Bowser action figure towards the Peach action figure.
Gaz then picked up the Peach action figure. "Help! Help!"
Now it was time for the Geno action figure that Mallow had returned to him after the Star Spirit inside it returned to the Star Road. "I will save you!" As he said this Gaz noticed that the real Peach and Bowser were standing not too far from him.
"Mom!" Gaz yelled. "Look there's guests" He said in a normal tone of voice after his mother came running.
"Yes Gaz I see them" His mother said.
"Are you to the real Princess Peach Toadstool and King Bowser Koopa?" Gaz asked.
"Yes, we are" Peach said smiling.
"Cool! Hey wait a minute." He looked at Bowser then started to run in circles around him. "Did you kidnap Peach and decided to hide her here? Does that mean that Mario will come here to save her? Or will Luigi come? I got a new Luigi action figure recently, I just haven't figured out how to integrate him into my 'save the world' game. Hey I know maybe Geno will come back to life like he did last time to save the princess. Mom didn't believe me but maybe now she can see him! It would be so cool!"
Bowser was getting rather dizzy listening to the mushroom boy and watching him run around. "Stop!" He yelled stomping his foot. The entire building appeared to shake as he did.
"Cool!" Gaz said though his mother was a little frightened. "Could you do that again?"
"Gaz!" His mother called. "I'm sure Bowser is very busy and doesn't have time for this." At least she hoped not.
Another customer who had just finished eating approached them curiously. "Are you one of Ganondorf's minions?" The young man had pointy ears and was dressed in green.
"Of course not! I'm no one's minion I'm King Bowser Koopa!" Bowser said.
"Hi Link" Peach said. "It's alright, Bowser is helping me with something."
"Well if you're sure you're alright I better be on my way and not keep Malon waiting" Link said.
"See you later link, tell Malon I said hi" Peach said.
"I will" Link said as he left the Inn.
"You know him?" Bowser asked though it was obvious she did. The question was more to ask how she knew him.
"Yes, that's Link a hero from the Kingdom of Hyrule. I met him when Zelda and I went into a double date with him and Mario last year on Valentine's day. But eventually they broke up. Link is dating Malon now, she's nice. You know it's amazing how sometimes certain couples that you think are going to work out don't then love is found where you least expect it. Link said something like that once" Peach said.
"You and Mario have been dating for a year?" Bowser asked. He knew they were close but he thought they were only very good friends. He didn't know their relationship was official.
"Not really" Peach said, that was a relief. "We went as friends, we have gone on a few dates but I've only kissed him on the cheek and" She stopped. She remembered she was standing in the middle of a lobby with the owner of the Inn and her son waiting and a few guests standing in a circle around them listening. She had gotten carried away talking to Bowser and forgot where she was. Her face turned red as she realized that she had been discussing her love life, or lack there of, in front of everyone. As her face turned a brighter shade of red by the second she tried to find a way to escape the situation. "Could we get the food delivered to a room please, whatever the special of the day is thank you." Peach said the entire sentence without a pause as if it was one long word. She took Bowser's hand and almost dragged him up the stairs, with the kind of strength people get only in emergencies, before he even got a clue of what in the world had happened.
The lobby and restaurant area which was right next to it was filled with whispering. The owner cleared her throat loudly and soon the room was quiet. Gaz was quite confused for he did not understand what strange assumptions were taking place in the minds of their guests. "Mom, can I go play with them?" He asked.
"Not now Gaz" His mother answered as she headed for the kitchen.
Meanwhile Peach had found an empty room where to hide. "What happened back there?" Bowser asked totally confused. One second Peach was talking to him and the next she hastily said a sentence that sounded like one long word being said so quickly then pulled him towards the stairs. Not that he minded having a place to talk to Peach in private but didn't know what was going on and had to keep telling certain thought to shut up.
"How could you not know? All those people were listening in to a private conversation. This is more embarrassing than the time Mario accidentally called me Pauline in front of the entire royal council" Peach said.
"Who's Pauline?" Bowser asked.
"Mario's ex girlfriend from Brooklyn. I wonder what would happen if she came to the Mushroom Kingdom" Peach said. They sat at a table to talk and wait for their Lunch to arrive.
"Where's Brooklyn? Is it far? What does Pauline look like?" Bowser suddenly appeared interested in her which sounded strange to Peach.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.
"Well I was thinking that Mario might want to see her again and if it's transportation she needs I'm willing to provide it." He would find that Pauline girl and offer her a free trip to the Mushroom Kingdom. Surely she wouldn't refuse an offer like that. He would find a way, he would even kidnap her to get her to go to the Mushroom Kingdom. If Mario was with her then he would be out of the way from Peach.
"Brooklyn is in another dimension, a different world. I'm not sure how to get there" Peach explained.
Unknown to them Pauline had mysteriously made her way to the Mushroom Kingdom after falling into a pipe. She was having plumbing problems and was feeling nostalgic thinking about when her boyfriend Mario used to fix all the pipes for her. He was the last plumber to touch those pipes and in a way that made them part of her memories of him. She didn't want to let another plumber touch them. So she attempted to fix the problem herself. She had seen Mario work before so how hard could it be? Just as Pauline stated to work she remembered when she last saw Mario. The pipes were having problems on that day and Luigi was also coming over to the house she and Mario had moved into. They were engaged to be married in a few months. She left to buy some things and when she returned Mario and Luigi had disappeared leaving the pipes in perfect conditions.
She waited but they didn't return. The police never found them and many people who knew the Mario brothers were beginning to think they were dead. But even after their mysterious disappearance Pauline never gave up hope. She knew deep down hat Mario and his brother were alive somewhere and that someday she would find them. Mario better had a very good explanation when she did. She triggered something in the pipe that made it swallow her even if she thought there was no way she could fit inside. It was like magic.
Pauline was thrown into another world coming out of a bigger pipe this time. That is how she eventually found the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario. He was, to say the least, very surprised to see her. "Pauline?" He could only repeat her name. He thought he would never see her again. That pipe was pretty much a one way trip though some told of another pipe that could be used to return to his world. However by the time he heard about it he had become somewhat accustomed to living in the Mushroom Kingdom or so he said besides Peach needed his help to be rescued from Bower. In reality he was afraid that Pauline would have forgotten him and dated someone else. He didn't want to face her if they had no chance to be together, he thought it was already too late since it had already been several months past the date that they when supposed to get married.
Of course Pauline had many questions most of which were answered by Luigi since his brother was too much in shook to say anything at the time. Princess Daisy had come by to visit her boyfriend Luigi at that time and came to find that Peach had gone on an emergency trip with Bowser. Now a young woman from the world of the Mario brothers was here. Things just kept getting more and more interesting she definitely had to visit the Mushroom Kingdom more often. In the end Pauline understood that Mario had been trapped there. She still had not assimilated the idea of not returning to Brooklyn but at least she found Mario.
Meanwhile Peach and Bowser had finished lunch and were on their way again. They had to cross the Forest Maze and Pipe Vault, beyond that was Moleville. Peach hurried out of Rose Town still feeling a little embarrassed from before and the two travelers entered the Forest Maze. It was easy to get lost there but they would find a way somehow... eventually.
"I'm pretty sure it's the fifth time we passed that tree" Peach said looking at the familiar tree.
"Maybe there's five trees that look alike" Bowser said. He was sure he had found a way out that time but they returned to the same place again.
"Or maybe we went in circles. Let's try this way now." The Forest Maze was an unusual magical place. Moving in a straight line wasn't enough to get across. There was a certain pattern that had to be followed.
To be Continued
Disclaimer, I do not own the Super Mario games or any Nintendo characters.